


Dilemmas, dilemmas

by Anonymous



Series: MartinElias Week 2020 [3]
Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Secrets, kind of?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-09
Updated: 2020-12-09
Packaged: 2021-03-10 10:40:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27969218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Commissioning all of those portraits to be painted of him back then was an investment that was still paying off. He was fond of the bodies he's taken, yes, but none of them compared to his original, so getting the chance to pretend he was still himself in those moments was something that was dear to him.Or, Local man gets stalked every day by his workplace's version of the Portrait of Dorian Gray.Written for MartinElias Week 2020. The prompt was Secrets.
Relationships: Martin Blackwood/Elias Bouchard
Series: MartinElias Week 2020 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2045629
Kudos: 28
Collections: Anonymous, MartinElias Week 2020





	Dilemmas, dilemmas

There was a portrait of Jonah Magnus hanging in the Institute lobby, and every day that Martin walked into work it was the first thing he noticed. He thought that after a while it would simply fade into the background and simply become just a part of life, but no, it was almost like it demanded to be seen.

So, of course, Martin saw it every day, uncomfortably aware that the founder of the Institute was peering down at him as he walked in for the job he was unqualified for and tried to work pretending that he wasn’t sleeping with The boss whenever he saw Elias there during the day. He wasn’t quite sure that Mr Magnus would approve much of him, ruining the Institute’s reputation as he surely was. 

And when he would leave the Institute at the end of the day, he walked out knowing that the portrait was watching, smug expression probably thinking “Well, I’m certainly glad that Mr Blackwood is leaving. Perhaps he won’t come back tomorrow” except more posh sounding and however fancy Victorian people talked back then.

The only time it didn’t feel like that was the few times he would stay late so he and Elias could go out to dinner or something or back to Elias’ flat. Funny, he always thought, because that should be the time that the founder would hate him the most. Maybe he was soft for Elias? Martin certainly was.

* * *

Commissioning all of those portraits to be painted of him back then was an investment that was still paying off. He was fond of the bodies he's taken, yes, but none of them compared to his original, so getting the chance to pretend he was still himself in those moments was something that was dear to him.

Even dearer to him was what he saw every day: Martin. 

He saw the way Martin regarded the painting each morning. Anxious to move past, worrying about how the “long-dead founder” thought of him. He was tempted to let Martin in on his little secret, but each morning gave him reason not to.

Oh, but if Martin knew. He wondered what he would think each morning then as he passed the painting. Whether he would smile as he passed by, whether he would think about what they could be doing if they weren’t at work. Dilemmas, dilemmas. 

Martin would be spending the weekend with him, however. Perhaps a change of plans wouldn’t be too terrible if they forwent the surprise trip to the opera he had planned and instead took Martin on a surprise trip to the panopticon. Either way, it would be dinner and a show.

There was a knock on the door and he realised how time had slipped past. “Come in.”

Martin walked in the room with a small bag and a slight smile. “Are you almost finished up for the day?”

“Yes, yes, just give me a moment to send this email.” He chuckled when Martin affectionately rolled his eyes.

Soon enough, they were walking out the doors of the Institute, and as he watched Martin give a wary look to one of the portraits they passed, he knew that he wanted to tell him, that he would tell him. After all, his patron fed on the fears and anxieties one kept to themselves, but it revelled in secrets revealed. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed!


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